


in circles drawn perfect

by historiologies



Series: the space between us [2]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Aging, American setting, M/M, Soonyoung turns thirty, Teacher AU, oh my god this is so fluffy and sappy it's practically saccharine i'm really sorry, references to some side pairs, seventeen are the most annoying friends apparently lmao, side jicheol, side jihan, side seokkwan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-11
Updated: 2017-09-11
Packaged: 2018-12-26 11:42:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12058278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/historiologies/pseuds/historiologies
Summary: Soonyoung turns thirty, and is having the worst birthday ever.





	in circles drawn perfect

**Author's Note:**

> I have to apologize at the relentless sappiness of this, but this has been a draft since May 2016 and I really needed to get it out of my system for good.
> 
> I originally wrote this for Soonyoung's 21st birthday and two birthdays of his have already passed before I managed to finish it. Oops.
> 
> I wrote something akin to a prologue to this fic a few weeks ago, called 'sometimes'. It's [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11830158), if you're interested. Wonwoo's perspective makes a whole lot more sense if you read that one.
> 
> If you have any questions about this AU, let me know! I love this Teacher AU a lot :))
> 
> (The title is from a lyric from The New Pornographers' "These Are The Fables." Great song. 10/10 do recommend.)

\---------------

 

As far as birthdays went, Soonyoung is pretty sure that, by all human standards, this was a terrible one so far.

“Jungchan Lee, are you kidding me?” He’s staring at his phone incredulously as Chan’s apologetic voice comes over the speakers.  
  
“I know, I know, it’s horrible timing,” Chan apologizes over and over but Soonyoung is not at all mollified.  
  
“The showcase is in two weeks! You were supposed to be here to teach Jun and Minghao the new choreography for your performance!” In front of him near the mirrored wall, he can see Junhui and Minghao suddenly looking very interested in the slats of wood that made up their dance studio flooring.  
  
“I know--”  
  
“Might I remind you that your grade--and by association, your graduation--depends on this?”  
  
"I know, I know, but-- it’s a family thing.”  
  
Soonyoung sighs. What can he possibly say to that without looking like a jerk?  
  
“Fine,” he replies. He’s a little sorry for how curt he sounds, but he had to get up at ass o’clock to be here for Chan’s final project because he’d promised. Never mind that he could have been sleeping in and maybe waking up to breakfast-in-bed from his partner. It’s not every day a person turned thirty, after all.  
  
“I’ll be there tomorrow bright and early, hyung! I promise! Seven a.m. sharp!”  
  
Soonyoung smiles wryly. Chan being there early at the studio meant _he_ had to be there early at the studio. Every rehearsal at the studio had to be attended by at least one of the teachers and he was Chan’s supervisor, not to mention his mentor. “I’ll see you then.” He made a mental note to cancel birthday soju tonight with Seungkwan and the others.  
  
“I owe you big time! Oh, and happy birthday!”  
  
Soonyoung lets out a big sigh. Happy birthday indeed.  
  
The phone call ends with a soft beep, and Soonyoung sees the messages from his groupchat lining up on the screen. He briefly checks if any are from Wonwoo, before tucking his phone into his back pocket.  
  
“Okay, since we’re here, I might as well see how your solo is doing, Minghao.”

 

\---------------

 

By the time he gets back to his apartment, it’s nearly lunch time. He had managed to suggest a few tweaks for Minghao’s routine, and he and Jun squeezed in a few run throughs of their teacher’s showcase number. He actually wanted to leave the studio sooner but Junhui insisted on working on their part together, something Soonyoung couldn’t find a realistic excuse not to do.  
  
He vaguely remembers his conversation with Wonwoo last night and he thinks the latter mentioned something about class in the afternoon. It’s early enough to be optimistic that his boyfriend might still be there but his optimism dissipates when he turns the key in the lock and recognizes the echoes of an empty room. “Hello?” he calls out, nonetheless. “Wonwoo?” No reply.  
  
After tossing his keys onto the little tray Seungkwan and Seokmin got for them for their housewarming shindig, he spots a folded piece of paper right next to it with his name on it.  
  
‘Hey, HoD called a staff meeting over lunch. Text you later. HBD!’  
  
He pouts a little. Wonwoo just had to have the most ornery head of department on campus. Who called for a staff meeting over lunch? Also, ‘hbd’? Lame. He is definitely making him pay for that one later. He’d barely even opened his eyes when Soonyoung had kissed him goodbye earlier, only murmuring a soft ‘see you’ and burying himself deeper into the covers.  
  
Indignation begins to bloom in Soonyoung’s chest and he feels the start of a funk when he feels his butt vibrate again. He tosses the note next to his keys and pulls out his phone. Seungkwan’s face appears on his phone, the shrill ringtone matching the obnoxious expression on his screen.  
  
He presses the green accept button on the screen before sinking onto the couch.  
  
“Soonyoung!” Seungkwan’s voice bounces off the walls of the room. “I need your help! It’s an emergency!”

 

\---------------

 

Honestly, Soonyoung thinks, he deserves better people in his life.  
  
He’s sitting at the campus coffee shop across from a nonplussed Seungkwan stirring his iced vanilla latte. Soonyoung had nearly bust a gut running from his apartment to the shop, only to find Seungkwan cheerfully ordering his usual from the noon barista. He even has the gall to look surprised to find Soonyoung panting heavily, leaning against the doorframe when he turns around.  
  
“Oh wow, you got here so fast!”  
  
It takes Soonyoung a few moments before he manages a reply, hands braced on his knees to keep himself upright. “Well, when someone says emergency,” he says between breaths, “I usually take that as urgent.”  
  
“Excuse me, sir,” the barista says, apologetically. “You’re blocking the way.”  
  
Seungkwan murmurs sympathy at the barista, before hooking an arm under Soonyoung’s armpit to lead him away. “Let’s take a table outside, then.”  
  
So there they sat, under the near blistering June sun, Soonyoung with his head on the table still trying to catch his breath and Seungkwan sampling his drink. He waits for a beat or two to pass before patting Soonyoung on the back.  
  
“Before I forget, happy birthday!”  
  
Soonyoung could cry. “Thank you. So what’s the emergency?”  
  
“Hmmm?”  
  
“You said. There was an emergency.”  
  
“Oh,” Seungkwan says, waving his hand dismissively. “It’s no big deal. I may have exaggerated a little. I just wanted your opinion on something.”  
  
“What?”  
  
“Seokmin’s parents are coming over for dinner tonight and I need them to like me. You used to date, so. Maybe you could give me some tips.”  
  
Soonyoung stares at him.  
  
Seungkwan pouts a little at his glare. “What?”  
  
“First of all,” Soonyoung starts, voice low with annoyance. “We need to talk about your definition of ‘emergency.’ Next, Seokmin and I dated a million years ago--”  
  
“Like more than ten, but nobody’s counting--”  
  
“And it was a brief two month stint before we decided we were better off as friends, so I don’t know what kind of advice I could offer you.”  
  
Seungkwan sighs again. “Yes, but you’re the best person to ask. Who do I ask, Yuna? We’re not that close."  
  
“This is an awkward conversation, one that a person shouldn’t be subjected to on his birthday.”  
  
Seungkwan snorts. “Tomorrow would have been too late.”  
  
Soonyoung is annoyed, kicks at the table legs. “Let me revise that; this is an awkward conversation that a person shouldn’t be subjected to ever.”  
  
“Oh come on,” Seungkwan grouses. “You’re one of his best friends now, plus you’ve been in a happily committed relationship for the past how many years anyway. Plus, Seokmin’s dating me now. I’m not insecure about you.”  
  
“Gee, thanks. Hey, wait a minute. Tonight? Does this mean you’re missing dinner tonight?”  
  
Seungkwan shuffles uncomfortably. “I thought Seokmin told you! We’re really sorry, but his parents literally only have tonight free on their vacation.”  
  
Soonyoung waves dismissively, trying not to show how bothered he is. “It’s-it’s fine. I was going to cancel drinks and ask if we could just make it an early dinner anyway.”  
  
Seungkwan genuinely looks sad. “We’re really sorry hyung. But anyway, at least you’ll have Wonwoo with you, right? Speaking of, how is he?”  
  
Soonyoung crosses his arms. “He’s fine. He’s at his department’s staff meeting so. Otherwise, he’d be here with me, dealing with the awkwardness of this emergency."  
  
“Why, did he date Seokmin too?”  
  
Soonyoung is feeling the beginnings of a headache. “If you’re going to grill me and ask me for advice, today of all days, you should at least buy me lunch.”  
  
Seungkwan pouts. “You earn more money than me.” But he stands up anyway, signals the waiter inside for a menu. “But since I’m feeling generous today…”  
  
Soonyoung sighs. Definitely needs better people in his life.

 

\---------------

 

It’s while he’s walking back to his apartment that he decides to take the long route through the campus shops. The afternoon sun had dulled into something more manageable while he had eaten his weight in muffins with Seungkwan, so he was accompanied by a lilting summer breeze. He buries his hands in his pockets, shaking his hair away from his face, hoping he doesn’t see any of his students. He’s not in any particular mood to be social at the moment.  
  
It’s not that he minds getting older. He enjoys celebrating his birthdays, probably more than the average person does. But thirty is a big age and he had always expected to have accomplished more than what he had at the moment. It’s not like he was unhappy; he was, in fact, deliriously happy. He had a job he enjoyed, friends he mostly got along with, and a partner he loved.  
  
So why did it seem like he had missed a giant deadline somehow?  
  
“Hey Soonyoung!”  
  
He looks up at the sound of his name, smile breaking out on his face when he sees one of his favorite people in the world. “Jeonghan!”  
  
Jeonghan is standing outside the campus bookshop he owns with his husband Josh, the newly-chopped hair falling messily into his eyes never detracting from his handsome features. “Happy birthday! Having a good day so far?”  
  
There’s always been something about Jeonghan that makes him want to tell him exactly how he’s feeling, but he wants to mull it over for awhile longer before telling anyone. “It’s been okay. Hey, are we still on for tonight?”  
  
Jeonghan’s eyes widen. “Tonight? What do you mean tonight?”  
  
Soonyoung lets the whine escape his throat. How could the universe be this terrible to him today? “Jeonghan, you said you’d come tonight with Josh. My birthday dinner? At The Garden?” The Garden was their favorite restaurant; a small, family-owned restaurant with an al-fresco dining area that served a little something for everyone in the group, from the salads he favored to the samgyupsal they all adored.  
  
“I thought we were all celebrating on the weekend! You know, since it’s awkward to celebrate on a Thursday because of work the next day.”  
  
“Well, no, it’s tonight. I made the reservation and everything.”  
  
Jeonghan fidgets uncomfortably. “Soonyoung, I’m sorry, we made plans tonight since I thought… I’m so sorry Soonyoung, I should have checked our group chat to make sure.”  
  
Soonyoung feels the start of a terrible tantrum collecting around his chest area at how unfair the world is being today, but he swallows it gamely to nod a little, smile on his face. “It’s fine. Really. We can reschedule to the weekend. I’ll tell everyone. Might even be better, since I have things to do tomorrow.”  
  
Jeonghan steps forward and wraps him in a hug to apologize. Soonyoung shuts his eyes and tries not to cry like a chastised child.

 

\---------------

 

He is a mature thirty-year-old man. He should not be upset that his friends are all bailing on him one by one. They are all grown-ups, with plans, careers, lives. He is adult enough to accept that he is not everyone’s primary priority.  
  
Still, he makes his way to Jihoon’s faculty room with every intention to sulk.  
  
“The world hates me today,” he announces as soon as he enters the small office. Jihoon looks up from his laptop, to see who it is, before he promptly returns to whatever task he was engaged with prior to Soonyoung’s entrance.  
  
“Seungcheol,” Jihoon says shortly, and Soonyoung realizes that in his dramatics he failed to notice the school guidance counselor and Jihoon’s partner also present in the latter’s office. Seungcheol gives him a kind smile and a small wave from his seat in the corner of Jihoon’s room.  
  
“What Jihoon means,” Seungcheol interprets, gesturing for Soonyoung to sit in the remaining unoccupied chair, which he does. “Is that he’s trying to finish and submit his questions for his finals and he’ll be with you right after.”  
  
Jihoon grunts again, barely audible over the clacking of the keys.  
  
Seungcheol’s lips quirk. “He also says happy birthday.”  
  
Soonyoung huffs. “It’s fine, I just wanted to come in here and rant. He doesn’t have to talk.” He sinks lower into his chair, the scowl on his face deepening as he crosses his arms.  
  
Seungcheol tilts his head at him, concerned. “Anything wrong?”  
  
When he thinks about how to say it in front of Seungcheol, the oldest in their friend group and arguably one of the most levelheaded people he’s ever known, it sounds stupid. He says as much. “It’s stupid.”  
  
“Must not be that stupid to make you this upset.” That’s Seungcheol; getting to the heart of the matter was something he did on the regular. Next to him, Jihoon wasn’t even batting an eyelash, head only moving from his notes to his screen.  
  
Soonyoung sighs. “I just feel like everything’s going wrong today. Of all days.”  
  
Seungcheol’s brow furrows. “Wrong how?”  
  
“Well,” Soonyoung starts, rubbing the back of his head where a tension headache was taking root. “I had to wake up really early for a rehearsal that didn’t push through. I wanted to have lunch with Wonwoo but when I got home he had a sudden department meeting. He didn’t even wake up for my birthday.”  
  
“Mmm,” Seungcheol hums sympathetically.  
  
“Seungkwan made me rush over to the cafe to see him saying it was an emergency only to put me through the most awkward conversation in the world because he’s meeting Seok’s parents, as if I even met them while Seok and I were briefly dating, and everything’s just been one thing after the other.”  
  
“And you ever get this feeling that you only notice just how much you do for people when you’re really paying attention?” Soonyoung’s on a roll now, red beginning to splotch his face from frustration. “Because not to be that person, but I was pulled from here to there, and all I asked was for people to come to dinner tonight but everyone just… they just forgot.”  
  
Ominously, Jihoon chooses this point to stop typing all of a sudden. His gaze slides over to Seungcheol carefully, and Seungcheol’s expression is oddly frozen.  
  
Soonyoung’s heart sinks.  
  
“No.”  
  
“It’s fine, Soonyoung,” Seungcheol coughs nervously. “Jihoon and I were just going to see the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.”  
  
“They’re in town tonight,” Jihoon speaks up again for the first time in about ten minutes. He looks straight at Soonyoung, and the slightest bit of discomfort creases his face. “It’s a one night show.”  
  
“We should have checked,” Seungcheol adds, looking thoroughly chastised. “I should have checked. Before buying the tickets last week.”  
  
Soonyoung’s shoulders, at this point, are thoroughly drooped. “It’s fine, I’m most likely postponing it anyway.”  
  
Something odd flickers in Seungcheol’s eye. “Don’t postpone on our behalf,” he argues. “I mean, who else can’t go?”  
  
Soonyoung holds a hand up. “Jeonghan, Josh, Seokmin, Seungkwan… I have a separate get together with my dance department next week, so that just leaves Wonwoo, Mingyu, Vernon and me.”  
  
“Mingyu and Vernon are still flying in for that architecture convention this weekend right?”  
  
“Yes, they’re supposed to be arriving this afternoon so that they can make it for dinner tonight.”  
  
“So you can’t cancel it!” Seungcheol almost looks like he’s relieved.  
  
Soonyoung shrugs. “I guess not.”  
  
“That still sounds like a good time,” Seungcheol says, trying to sound reassuring.  
  
Soonyoung scrunches up his face. “I guess so. I haven’t seen them since last year, and they’re always good fun to have around.”  
  
“And Wonwoo’s pretty important too, right?”  
  
“Well yeah, of course…” Soonyoung trails off, and Seungcheol leans forward, concerned.  
  
“Is everything okay between you two?"  
  
“I think so,” Soonyoung trails off, wondering just how much he should reveal. Seungcheol leans forward and touches his elbow, and Soonyoung feels like crumpling up. “Cheol, I’m scared Wonwoo wants to break up with me.”

“That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” Jihoon mutters, eyes back to scanning his notes and fingers moving swiftly over his keyboard. “And I had to look at past test answers to my musical theory class just last night.”  
  
“I don’t know if I’m being paranoid,” Soonyoung says, worrying his bottom lip. Seungcheol rubs the back of his shoulders and Soonyoung leans forward, sinking into a nest made of his arms. “He’s just been so distant lately and he’s always working. We’ve been cancelling our plans a lot recently. Just this morning he didn’t even wake up to like… greet me properly. Maybe he’s getting tired of me. Of us.”  
  
“He’s just been under a lot of stress, Soonyoung,” Seungcheol says soothingly. “He’s up for his initial review for tenure this year and his head is really making him jump through hoops for it.”  
  
“You’re probably thinking I’m overreacting,” Soonyoung says in a tiny voice.  
  
“Yes,” Jihoon says in a monotone.  
  
“No,” Seungcheol replies simultaneously, shooting a look over at Jihoon. “Soonyoung, let me ask you something. Do _you_ want to break up with Wonwoo?”  
  
“Are you theorizing that Soonyoung is projecting his own desire to break up with Wonwoo onto Wonwoo?” Jihoon snorts, fingers continuing to fly over the keyboard. Seungcheol frowns at his theory being picked apart before it’s even laid out.  
  
“I don’t want to break up with Wonwoo,” Soonyoung says slowly, trying not to let the crack in his voice show. “I just feel like he’s on his way to getting tired of me, of what we are.  
  
"And we’re getting older now. I… I feel like we’re at a point where we’re faced with the reality of making choices about the rest of our lives, and I don’t know. I don’t know if Wonwoo would choose to be with someone like me forever.”  
  
Jihoon had stopped typing by now, leaning back in his chair to look at his friend. “What do you mean someone like you?”  
  
“Like,” Soonyoung gestures vaguely. “Someone who flaked out on his dreams of performing on stage and is vacillating around his old alma mater’s dance department because it’s his comfort zone and he’s afraid of failure.”  
  
Jihoon blinks at all of the baggage Soonyoung laid out at their feet. “Wow.”  
  
Soonyoung slumps back in his chair. “Yeah.”  
  
Seungcheol clears his throat. “Do you want to, like, talk about this sometime?”  
  
“It’s not like it’s something that bothers me every minute of every day,” Soonyoung says, waving his hand dismissively. “I only really think about it when I’m feeling weirdly inferior when I’m with Wonwoo, which is like, only .1% of the time. He’s about to become a tenured literature associate professor, one of the youngest in the university.” He leans forward on his elbow, chin pillowed on his palm. “I just don’t want him to regret being with me.”  
  
“You’ve been together for eight years, Soonyoung,” Seungcheol tells him softly. “I don’t think he’d still be there if he regretted any of them.”  
  
“I know that,” Soonyoung sighs. “But the reassurance would be nice.”

 

\---------------

 

The tension headache that Soonyoung was harboring was growing stronger by the minute.  
  
“Mingyu, don’t even think about it.”  
  
It was hard to believe that the up-and-coming young Asian-American duo from the West Coast the architecture magazines were raving about was the puppy pair Soonyoung had grown up with. It’s especially hard when they’re munching on corn chips they got from the plane and pretending to throw them at each other in his car.  
  
“Guys, I mean it, Wonwoo would kill you both if either of you so much as drop a single piece in the backseat. We just had it vacuumed.”  
  
“Vernon was starting it,” Mingyu pointed out, the pout evident from his tone.  
  
The aforementioned young man turned around from the front seat of Soonyoung’s car to shoot finger guns at Mingyu, to which the latter replied with a small spluttered gasp of indignation.  
  
It takes everything in Soonyoung’s power not to turn into his father right now and warn them that he was turning around this car right now to take them back to the airport, so help him God.  
  
“Sorry we were out so late. Vernon really thought he’d lost his luggage. Did you have to wait a long time?”  
  
“Not a long time,” Soonyoung lies, leaving out the part where he circled several times around the arrivals bay because they said they’d be waiting for him. He signals to turn left, maneuvers the wheel of his and Wonwoo’s Honda Civic to pull off from the freeway into the road going downtown. “I hope you don’t mind going straight to dinner instead of the hotel first. We’re running a little late.”  
  
Vernon’s rapidly tapping into his phone. “No problem.”  
  
Behind him, Mingyu is clearing his throat nervously. “What time does it say there?”  
  
“It’s about ten to seven,” Soonyoung replies, keeping his eyes on the road. He raises his hand to bop his car horn but changes his mind when the vehicle in front of him moves faster than before.  
  
“Soonyoung, I know it’s a huge favor,” Vernon says, urgently. “But I really need to drop off our bags at the hotel before dinner.”  
  
“Wonwoo and I can drop you off after dinner, it’s not a problem,” Soonyoung says, distracted by the stoplight.  
  
“It’s only a few blocks away,” Vernon pleads. Soonyoung spares him a glance at a red light and Vernon is trying to give him his best puppy eyes. Soonyoung shudders.  
  
“Please refrain from doing that.”  
  
“Besides,” Mingyu adds from the back. “You and Wonwoo might want to do something else after dinner. Or I might want to do something else. Or Vernon might--”  
  
“Alright, alright, I get it,” Soonyoung succumbs. He looks both ways before making an abrupt right instead of the left he was supposed to make en route to The Garden, wincing at the beeps he gets for the action. “Can one of you call Wonwoo and ask where he is, tell him we’re going to be late?”  
  
“Sure thing,” Mingyu pipes up. Soonyoung hears the faint sounds of the dialpad and the low sound of ringing before Mingyu continues talking. “Hey, are you at The Garden already? We’re TEN MINUTES away but we’re dropping off our bags at the hotel so we’ll probably get there in about TWENTY MINUTES. Did you hear me? TWENTY MIN--”  
  
“Mingyu, I think he heard you,” Soonyoung quips. He looks at Mingyu in the rearview mirror, and chuckles when Mingyu has the sense to look chastised.  
  
He pouts before putting the phone down. “I was just trying to make sure.”  
  
Vernon snickers fondly, and earns a poke on the back of his neck. “Hey!”  
  
“Don’t be rude.”  
  
“You’re the one being annoying to Soonyoung. On his BIRTHDAY too.”  
  
Soonyoung heaves a sigh before making the turn into the hotel parking lot. “You both have five minutes to leave your stuff at the concierge or you’re taking an Uber to The Garden. I mean it. Scoot.”

 

\---------------

 

Twenty minutes ends up being almost half an hour, what with the sudden spot of traffic they encounter on the way back. Soonyoung feels antsy about making Wonwoo wait, and the closer he gets to the venue, the more he thinks that the only thing that will rescue this day for him would be to just collapse in Wonwoo’s arms for the longest cuddle in history.  
  
Quick dinner, a beer, then home, he thinks to himself. Everything else that today dredged up could come later.  
  
He’s thinking about seriously taking up Seungcheol’s offer to talk as they pull into a parking slot in the far end of the lot, which is oddly full for a weekday. He presses a button to lock the vehicle as soon as Vernon slams the door shut, shoves the keys back into his pocket.  
  
The Garden is a small, intimate place. There’s a stone walkway that marks a path from the gate to the wooden door, which opened into a small dimly-lit dining area with white tables and chairs. The real treasure, though, was the wide opening at the back leading into the al-fresco garden area, a well-manicured lawn with pretty little lawn chairs and low tables and benches organized around a stage, bracketed in by a white trellis fence crawling with flowers, vines and fairy lights. Soonyoung, Wonwoo and their friends all loved to frequent that place, whether it was for a quick dinner or a long drinking session under the stars. It helped that The Garden was owned by a family that came from Korea, so there was a nice selection of Korean dishes aside from the standard surf and turf that helped all of them feel connected to their heritage.  
  
Soonyoung bounds up the steps, peeking into the door to look for Michelle, the usual front of house who took all their reservations. The holding area is quiet though, the lights set down even dimmer than usual. Soonyoung furrows his brow. “Michelle? Wonwoo? Anyone here?”  
  
He is suddenly accosted on either side by Mingyu and Vernon. He splutters, surprised. “What the fu--”  
  
“Oh shit, we should--”  
  
“Vernon…”  
  
“You do it with me!”  
  
Immediately two hands cover Soonyoung’s face and he tries desperately not to stumble as his vision drowns in black. “You guys, what’s going on?” He manages to stay upright, hands flailing and hitting Mingyu and Vernon in the chests.  
  
“Ouch, quit it, would you--”  
  
“We’re almost there--”  
  
“Hey, hey, you guys,” a familiar voice calls out in a gentle baritone, and Soonyoung feels like crying at the sounds of it. “I can take it from here.”  
  
“Wonwoo,” Soonyoung says, reaching out blindly. Fingers slot through his, slim and knobby at the knuckles. “What’s going--what’s--?”  
  
His makeshift blindfold lifts from his face, and he blinks at the sudden brightness.  
  
“SURPRISE!”  
  
His mouth drops open as some kind of celebratory trumpet music blasts from the speakers. The Garden looks the same as it always did, except it’s filled with people--people he knows. On the one side, he sees Minghao, Junhui, Chan and some of his other students and associates from the drama department. On another side, he sees Jeonghan, Joshua, Jihoon, Seungcheol and some of their other friends from the university teaching staff and the campus stores. Scattered all around are random family members--he sees his mom, dad and sister waving happily at him, sitting next to members of Wonwoo's family. He looks to the front and on the stage area are Seungkwan and Seokmin, looking dashing in matching blazers with mics in their hand.  
  
“Happy birthday Soonyoung!” Seokmin yells into the mic. Seungkwan bounces excitedly next to him. “You didn’t think we’d all flake on you, did you? On such a momentous occasion?”  
  
The crowd lets out another cheer, a mix of ‘awwwws’ and ‘ahhhhhs’. His vision mists right then and there, the fist clenched around his heart the whole day loosening. Everything makes sense all of a sudden; his friends mysteriously having plans, Seungcheol urging him not to cancel even when everyone was backing out, Mingyu and Vernon being late at the airport, and them being so loud about their ETA and insisting on passing by the hotel before getting to the restaurant. It was all a way to surprise and buy time for the people at the party. Soonyoung lets out a little huff when he sees all the smug and mischievous faces in front of him, and shakes his head happily. Well would you look at that.  
  
He feels his hand being squeezed and he looks to his side. Wonwoo’s smiling at him, eyes bright and sparkly behind his wire-rimmed glasses. He looks handsome in his deep red long sleeves and slacks, the cut accentuating the broadness of his shoulders and the narrowness of his hips. “Surprise,” Wonwoo repeats softly again, right into Soonyoung’s ear, and Soonyoung can’t believe he ever doubted how much he was loved.  
  
“You did this?”  
  
Wonwoo just smiles and leads him to the table with the best view of the stage. When the music winds down to a low murmur, Seungkwan and Seokmin hold up the mics to their mouths again.  
  
“First of all, we’re sorry Seungkwan made you run across campus--”  
  
“He said it was an emergency!” Soonyoung yells gleefully from his seat. Under the table, he’s holding Wonwoo’s hand with both of his, not even letting go to take a sip of the cool beer the waiter placed in front of him. All around, people were being served their dinners as they all settled back to watch the happenings onstage.  
  
“Well it was,” Seungkwan protests. “It was an emergency that Wonwoo made me do! And you know he’s my favorite out of everyone here, so.”  
  
Wonwoo giggles, and Soonyoung bumps shoulders with him playfully.  
  
“Anyway, what we have tonight in store for you are some performances,” Seokmin explains with a twinkle in his eye. “Because you know how shy and retiring and untalented your friends are.”  
  
“Plus some words, just for you,” Seungkwan continues. He gives Soonyoung a sweet, genuine smile. “Because even if we mess with you, we love you, and we ask you to do so much for us because you’re a person we know who always has our backs.”  
  
“We’re so thankful for you, Soonyoung,” Seokmin shakes his head roughly when the crack in his voice is heard. “I’m going to start crying in a minute if we don’t start, Kwannie!”  
  
“I’m already halfway there,” Seungkwan retorts, fanning the cards in his hand in front of their eyes.  
  
Wonwoo presses the tissue into Soonyoung’s hand before the first tear starts to roll.  
  
By themselves or in twos, his friends all come up to the stage. First up, Jeonghan and Joshua pair up to sing a pretty acoustic song, a sweet little piece about falling in love, and the room erupts to rapturous applause when Joshua strums the last note on his guitar. Seungcheol and Jihoon do a quick little number called “Guilty”, and it’s fun to watch them play around the stage together with Jihoon singing the choruses and Seungcheol rapping on the verses. Mingyu and Vernon do a fun rap song that ends with both of them giggling as they make up words to the bridge that they forgot. Jun and Minghao do a great little act combining Chinese traditional moves and their signature martial arts-inspired dancing, and Chan entertains them all with a Michael Jackson-inspired routine.  
  
Sometime before Seungkwan and Seokmin’s duet of a beautiful, stirring ballad called “Say Yes”, Wonwoo stands up from the table, simply telling Soonyoung he was going to get another beer. He nods, entranced by the pair’s heartbreaking singing, and he realizes Wonwoo hasn’t returned yet when Seungcheol and Jihoon sit on either side of him.  
  
“The Royal Philharmonic huh?”  
  
“It was Jihoon’s idea,” Seungcheol says defensively, raising his hands up with glee.  
  
Jihoon rolls his eyes, taking a small sip of his soju bottle. “I knew Soonyoung wouldn’t bother checking to see if the Philharmonic were actually playing a show in town. Which they are, by the way. Next week.”  
  
“We’re actually going to go,” Seungcheol sighs and shakes his head. “The things you do for love.”  
  
Jihoon snorts, but his cheeks redden and he hides the smile on his face as the strings signal the end of the song.  
  
“Thank you, thank you,” Seokmin says to the audience, giving a bow to every side of the stage. Seungkwan rolls his eyes and pretends to shove him off the platform, but the smile they shoot at each other while joking around is loving and sweet; Soonyoung’s heart warms a little at his two friends.  
  
“Anyway,” Seungkwan says, grinning. “We can’t finish off the night without a song from the birthday boy’s significant other, right?”  
  
Soonyoung straightens. No way. He couldn’t be.  
  
“You know, Soonyoung, nobody worked harder, planned more and made all of us be mean to you more than him,” Seungkwan continues. “He spent every minute of the past few weeks coordinating with all of us, coming up with a setlist, booking a venue and the food.”  
  
Next to him, Seungcheol wraps an arm around his shoulder.  
  
“You know, Kwannie, when I turn thirty,” Seokmin quips. “If I don’t get anything like this, I will be sorely disappointed.”  
  
“On your thirtieth birthday, please anticipate eating takeout from Mr. Wang’s and watching a movie on our living room couch,” Seungkwan replies smoothly in the same tone, but he winks at the audience conspiratorially.  
  
“Anyway, without further ado, please welcome Wonwoo!”The lights in the garden area switch off and Wonwoo self-consciously climbs onstage, clutching a guitar like a lifeline. Soonyoung is hopelessly endeared as he fumbles around to find the chair in the dark, and then blinking owlishly as the spotlight from the back centers on him.  
  
“He’s the cutest thing,” Soonyoung whispers under his breath. “Nobody tell him I said that.” Seungcheol just laughs in response.  
  
“Hi, everyone. I’m Wonwoo,” he says into the microphone in his deep rumbly voice. He lets out a breathy chuckle, and Soonyoung’s already blinking back tears. “Thank you all for coming and helping me surprise our guest of honor here. It’s a special day, and I’m really happy you’re all here to wish him nice things. He deserves that.”  
  
“I hope you’ll forgive me my Korean accent. I did my best to learn how to sing this song. It’s not Shinee, sorry babe, but I know you like this song a lot, and when I learned what the words meant, I started liking it too. Because they make me think about you.”  
  
Jihoon nudges Soonyoung. “I told you you were being stupid.”  
  
“Shut up, my boyfriend is being cheesy and I want to hear every single second of it,” Soonyoung warbles back.  
  
Wonwoo leans back and picks up the guitar, places it gently on his lap, and starts to play some familiar opening chords. Soonyoung’s ears prick up, and he lets out a little sob at the realization of what he’s playing.  
  
“It’s Love Light. He’s playing Love Light.”  
  
Wonwoo’s singing voice is soft but lilting, and his accent wraps around the words with less fluidity than Soonyoung’s, but it sounds like the best thing in the world to him. He plucks at the strings during the chorus, straining to reach the high notes at certain parts, but if his voice cracks no one makes a joke over it, quiet murmurs of appreciation rippling through the crowd. The tears are streaming down Soonyoung’s face freely now, but he’s long since forgotten to wipe them away. His nose is getting red and itchy but it’s a small price to pay for all the love he’s receiving this evening.  
  
He listens to the song, translates the lyrics with his rudimentary Korean internally.

 

_I love you, lovely_

_Even with my eyes closed, I can see you_

_You are blinding_

_The more I look at you like this_

_And look at you_

_You are my love light_

 

He ends the song with a quiet strum, and the audience starts applauding with delight. The house lights come back on, and Wonwoo takes a shy bow before placing the guitar on the chair behind him and pulling out a sheet of paper from his pocket. From where he’s sitting, Soonyoung can see his hands shaking, but when their eyes meet, Wonwoo gives him a strong, bracing smile.  
  
“I wanted to say a few words. To Soonyoung. And I hope you’ll all forgive me if my words fail me in this moment and I have to resort to a written outline,” Wonwoo clears his throat. “All these degrees and they desert me when they matter most.”  
  
“Um, when I first met you, you were giving me a flier to join the dance club right there in the courtyard we all still walk past to get to the university library. I didn’t know how to dance and I still don’t, but there was something about your enthusiasm that made me want to join and get to know you.”  
  
“We’ve known each other for almost twelve years now. We’ve been through a lot together, as friends, as partners. Some of our biggest achievements, some of our biggest failures, and they have been a lot, we’ve been by each other’s side. For that, I will never be able to thank you. I’ll always be your number one fan. Please don’t ever doubt that I think the world of you and always will.”  
  
The little seed of self-doubt that Soonyoung has been harboring for years dissipates with a careful stroke of reassurance.  
  
“More than that, I would like to thank you for being you, for being the brightest star in my sky, for not getting sick of me.” A sniffle sounds over the speakers as Wonwoo’s voice breaks a little.  
  
“I know that I’m not the person you imagined being with when you were growing up, probably. I’m shy and self-centered. I can be incredibly insensitive. I can say things that go too far because I don’t realize that your feelings are getting hurt. I have a lot of pride and don’t say sorry first, even when it’s my fault, sometimes. I’m not a lot of fun to be around especially in groups, and many times we have to go home when you don’t want to yet because I don’t want to be around people I don’t know. There are so many things that you have to understand about me, and I know it’s hard for you. I know it would be easier to be with someone who can keep up with your energy, or who can understand your creativity more than I do but for some reason, the universe decided I deserved someone like you.”  
  
“I’m a hard person to love but you do it anyway, and I’m thankful every day for it. I don’t tell you this enough but I’m so thankful I met you. I’m so thankful you love me and that you let me love you.” Wonwoo stops at this point, to try and discreetly wipe at the tears streaming down his cheeks. Soonyoung can hear Seungkwan’s crying muffled against Seokmin’s shoulder from behind the stage.  
  
“I know you’ve been dreading this birthday even if you haven’t said it out loud, but let me be the one to tell you that thirty isn’t too late to start things, my love. There are still so many things you can do, that I can’t wait to see you do. Thirty is just the beginning.”  
  
Wonwoo takes a deep breath before he continues. “I don’t know if you remember this, but after I came back to the dance club to take charge of documentations, we were manning the applications booth at the start of our senior year, and some girls who were big fans of yours came up to you and kind of flailed at you.” He tries to repeat the actions, waving his hands around like a frenzied fangirl, and everyone in the audience erupts into watery giggles. “One girl even went, when do you plan on getting married? And without blinking an eye, you said you were getting married at the age of thirty. She told you, oh, I’ll wait for you then. And you told her, shaking your head in disbelief, nine years? That’s a long time to wait for someone.”  
  
Soonyoung feels like his heart is beating so fast and also not at all, stuttering in his chest and making him feel light-headed.  
  
“Someone told me that you wondered if I have any regrets in all the time we’ve been together. I guess my only regret is that it’s taken me way too long to ask you something I knew twelve years ago.”  
  
Wonwoo tucks the paper back into his pants and warily climbs off the stage, fishing for something else in the other pocket as he walks toward him. There’s a buzzing in Soonyoung’s ears, tuning out everything that’s happening in the room except Wonwoo, standing in front of him all of a sudden, sweat beading at his brow and a velvet box in his trembling fingers. He flips the lid open, and Soonyoung inhales sharply at the silver ring nestled in it.  
  
He takes out the ring, kneels on one knee and places one hand on Soonyoung’s thigh, which Soonyoung clutches with a clammy hand. He presses Wonwoo’s hand to his cheek, sniffling as he looks into the other’s eyes. Wonwoo is smiling gently, the fondest look on his face, and it’s like everyone else in the room faded away to leave just the two of them.  
  
I love you, Soonyoung mouths at him, and Wonwoo’s face crumples from emotion for a second before he composes himself again.  
  
“Soonyoung Kwon,” Wonwoo says, voice a little shaky but sure, and he smiles widely at him. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”  
  
Soonyoung pulls him in by the collar in response. “Yes,” he whispers against Wonwoo’s mouth, before kissing him. He kisses him again and again and again, to the soundtrack of the clapping and hollering of their friends and family.  
  
“Do you forgive me for everything that happened to you today?” Wonwoo murmurs softly as he slips the ring onto his finger. Soonyoung watches the diamond inlay sparkle against the backdrop of the fairy lights weaving through the white lattice of the fence and he’s reminded of the twinkle in Wonwoo’s eye.  
  
It feels greedy, in the middle of everything, but Soonyoung doesn’t hear anything or see anything except the little circle making up him and Wonwoo, his whole world encased in that space between them, the boy he met in the college quadrangle who waited for him, who stayed by his side, and who was always his number one fan, regardless of what happened.  
  
Suddenly thirty doesn’t feel like the terrible age it was when he woke up this morning. Suddenly he’s really really glad to turn thirty.  
  
“I will in due time,” Soonyoung jokes, smiling before leaning in to kiss Wonwoo again. “Thanks for everything.”  
  
Best birthday ever.

**Author's Note:**

> This was all basically inspired by Soonyoung telling a fan, during a Pretty U era fansign, that he wanted to get married by the age of 30. When the fan told him she'd wait for him, Soonyoung wondered about anyone loving anyone for that long.
> 
> Really, this was very contrived and corny and I just wanted a good old proposal fic. This was originally conceived for the prompt "A & B try to propose to each other at the same time" but it ended up like this, because Wonwoo is a huge sap.
> 
> Please never expect this much fluff or sap or corniness to ever come out of me ever again, thank you.


End file.
